Sustainable Imerys Bentonite for the Foundry Industry

The 2018 Ankiros trade fair took place from 25th till 27th October in Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of the biggest bi-annual metallurgy events and stays for a major get together of all actors in the foundry industry.

It goes without saying that Imerys had a strong presence with its Metalcasting and Aluminates’ expert teams. As the leading supplier of innovative solutions, covering the entire applications of the foundry industry, Imerys facilitated understanding thanks to a booth presenting its complementary range of products.

During the lecture session, Cihan Aktolga, Sales Manager from the Metalcasting teams at Imerys Turkey, guided the audience through his presentation “Effect of Consistent Quality Bentonite to the Casting Parts in Relation to Sustainable Bentonite Mining”. The audience learned that molding sand is one of the key parameters in the casting process. Changes in the sand system may affect the casting quality instantly, however, corrective actions may take time to be implemented. The bentonite mineral is used as a green molding sand binder. The stabilization of one parameter, namely the bentonite quality, requires a long-term planning of the bentonite production.

This long-term orientation of the production processes enables a reliable and sustainable development of the company and the foundry business as well.

This is also evident on the Milos island in Greece, where the world-class bentonite reserves and the main bentonite mining and processing facilities of Imerys are located. The primary target is the reliable supply of a consistently high-quality foundry grade bentonite. A fundamental pillar of the operational model is obtaining and retaining the social license to operate.

Corporate Social Responsibility is anchored at the heart of the Imerys Group’s overall strategy.Caring for our planet is central to the sustainability of Group operations and as such focus on planning and carrying out mining activities in such a way as to minimize the impact on the environment, manage biodiversity and rehabilitation of the disturbed landscape in the best way or target energy savings during processing. Health and Safety is a fundamental part of the corporate culture, with a commitment to continually improve performance. This commitment extends beyond the Groups direct operations and is actively promoted through community engagement around educational activities in Milos.

Furthermore, Imerys acts as a socially responsible corporate citizen, contributing to the balanced development of the island and obtaining the acceptance and support of the local community.

In 1998 the Milos Mining Museum was established in order to honor the island’s vast geological and mining history and currently operating with the support of Imerys Industrial Minerals Greece S.A. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions with more than 10.000 visitors per year. To mark its 20th anniversary, the Milos Mining Museum organized a series of events in 2018 aimed at visitors, students, and the local community. This continuous presence in the island’s cultural and educational development has earned the project a “2018 Sustainable Development Challenge” award, which is an in-house competition founded to mobilize everyone at Imerys to make concrete contributions to our CSR objectives.

Sustainability and reliability are the Imerys Group’s key drivers for short and long-term value creation for the foundry industry.